Package of identifiable beverage containers

ABSTRACT

A package of 6, 12, 24, or 48 individual beverage containers is disclosed wherein the containers are identical except for an identifier associated with each of the individual beverage containers in the package for facilitating visual discrimination of each of the individual beverage containers, the identifier comprising a color and/or symbol and/or number on the cap or top of the beverage container. The package can be supplied by a beverage manufacturer and does not require consumer intervention by marking his or her own container since the containers are premarked when purchased.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system and method for identifyingbeverage containers and distinguishing one from the other.

More particularly, the invention relates to an improvement in the fieldof packages of beverage containers and to methods of identifyingindividual beverage containers and distinguishing one container fromanother.

Beverages sold in containers are typically packaged in sets of 6, 12,24, 48, or other amounts, with each container in such a set beingidentical to each other container. For example, a six-pack of beer cans,a 24-pack of water bottles, a 48-pack of juice boxes would bemanufactured with no way of distinguishing the containers. In somecases, each container may have an individual serial number, but aconsumer does not usually pay attention to serial numbers to distinguishbeverage containers.

Frequently two or more people (referred to hereafter as consumers) haveopened containers from the same packaged set and have consumed part butnot all of the beverage in the containers they have opened. Theconsumers may place their opened containers on a coffee table and may bedistracted by a program being broadcast on a television, a conversation,a game being played among individuals, and the like, sometimes resultingin confusion as to who has been drinking from a particular container.Since the containers from a single packaged set are identical, theindividuals have no easy way of identifying their own container.

This problem has been recognized by others and various attempts atsolving it have been proposed. Placing a display tag on the neck ofbottle is described in U.S. Pat. No. 1,971,528. Mounting an identifyingdevice on the neck of a bottle with a clip is described in U.S. Pat. No.2,976,629. Identification indicia mounted on an elastic clip areillustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,358,770. The clip is shaped to fit aliquid container. Others have suggested an elastic O-ring that fits on acontainer, a loop with hanging member (U.S. Pat. Publ. 2007008933), ascratch-off coating area on a container so that a consumer may write hisinitials or other identifying information (U.S. Pat. Publ. 20060249950),for example. U.S. Pat. No. 7,243,795 discloses a beverage can with anidentification system to distinguish one consumer's beverage fromanother's, wherein each can is identical, having an opaque covering on aseries of numbers or other identifiers, with the same identifiers alsovisible but below the corresponding opaque covered identifiers. Theconsumer is expected to scratch off the opaque covering over a selectednumber or other identifier so that the series of numbers or identifiersis visible and one out of the previously opaque covered numbers alsovisible.

The prior devices and systems for identifying a container have one ormore disadvantages and as a result have not become commerciallysuccessful or adopted as a means for identifying individual beveragecontainers by consumers. Each of the prior art systems requires aconsumer to scratch a portion of a container, place an identifier on thecontainer, or other steps which are so inconvenient that none of theseprior art systems have become commercially successful.

Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide an improved device foridentifying a container and distinguishing one container from anotherwhich does not require consumer action.

It is a principal object of the invention to provide an improvedapparatus and method for identifying and distinguishing liquidcontainers one from the other without the aforementioned consumer actionrequired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

These objects, and others which will become apparent from the followingdescription and drawings, are achieved by the present invention whichcomprises in one aspect a package of beverage containers, each beveragecontainer in the package having a unique identifier.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first package of 6 water bottleshaving an identifier associated with each bottle on the caps thereof.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a second package of 6 water bottleshaving an identifier associated with each bottle on the caps thereof.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a third package of 6 water bottleshaving an identifier associated with each bottle on the caps thereof.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a fourth package of 6 water bottleshaving an identifier associated with each bottle on the caps thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

While the invention is capable of being carried out in variousembodiments, for purposes of illustration only certain embodiments aredescribed in detail with reference to the drawings wherein FIG. 1illustrates an embodiment wherein a package of six water bottles 18 arepackaged in a bottom cardboard box 20 and maintained in the box 20 withplastic wrap 19. Each cap 17 has a different design on top, the designsbeing a star 11, dog 12, airplane 13, sun 14, and flower 15.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a second package is illustrated with thedifferent designs on top of the caps 17 being a happy face 21, dollarsign 22, bike 23, apple 24, heart 25, and X 26.

In FIG. 3, the unique identifiers are bear 32, mouse 33, ram 34, cat 35,antelope or reindeer 36, and sheep 37.

Referring to FIG. 4, the unique identifiers are sports team logos, 26,27, 28, 29, 30, 31.

It is contemplated that packages of 12, 24, or 48 individual beveragecontainers would be manufactured by any state of the art method exceptfor the individualized caps having identifiers which facilitate visualdiscrimination of each individual container, the identifiers comprisinga color and/or symbol and/or number on the cap.

In some embodiments the containers have a flip top cap member as isconventional on some packages of water bottles, with each flip top caphaving a unique identifier, for example a color or color combination,number, symbol, or the like.

With beer or soda cans which do not have caps as water bottles do, theidentifier can be on the top surface or any place where the identifiersare visible to a consumer prior to purchasing the package.

Packaging systems according to the invention have certain advantageswhich make them more marketable and desirable to consumers who haveexperienced the problem of more than one bottle being open at the sametime and being mixed up by the people drinking from them when they putthe bottles down and forget which bottle was being consumed by whichperson. According to the present invention, the manufacturer wouldprovide the individualized identifiers on otherwise-identical containersto help the consumers keep track of their own containers after they haveopened them in an environment where others have opened containers of thesame beverage.

The present invention, therefore, is well adapted to carry out theobjects and attain the ends and advantages mentioned, as well as othersinherent therein. While the invention has been depicted and describedand is defined by reference to particular preferred embodiments of theinvention, such references do not imply a limitation on the invention,and no such limitation is to be inferred. The invention is capable ofconsiderable modification, alteration and equivalents in form andfunction, as will occur to those ordinarily skilled in the pertinentarts. The depicted and described preferred embodiments of the inventionare exemplary only and are not exhaustive of the scope of the invention.Consequently, the invention is intended to be limited only by the spiritand scope of the appended claims, giving full cognizance to equivalentsin all respects.

1. A package of 6, 12, 24, or 48 individual beverage containers, thecontainers being identical except for an identifier associated with eachof the individual beverage containers in the package for facilitatingvisual discrimination of each of the individual beverage containers, theidentifier comprising a color and/or symbol and/or number on the cap ortop of the beverage container.
 2. The package of claim 1 wherein thecontainer is a water bottle with a flip top cap member and theidentifier is located on the flip top cap member.
 3. The package ofclaim 1 wherein the container is a soda or beer can and the identifieris on the top surface.
 4. The package of claim wherein the identifiersare visible to a consumer prior to purchasing the package.
 5. Apackaging system comprising a plurality of packages according to claim1, wherein the identifiers are unique among the individual beveragecontainers in the plurality of packages so that when a consumerpurchases a plurality of packages, each beverage container has a uniqueidentifier.